Welcome to Ceiba

Creating win-win solutions for biodiversity and people

Ceiba’s mission is to help people improve their livelihoods through the conservation of biodiversity. Our focus is on protecting the seasonally dry tropical forests of western Ecuador, and the Andean cloud forests, two of the most threatened ecosystems on Earth. We believe that conservation of biodiversity will alleviate poverty if rural landowners and communities are empowered to make ecologically-sound land management decisions. Founded in 1997, with headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin, Ceiba works primarily in the South American nation of Ecuador, a country that comprises some of the world’s most biodiverse ecosystems.

News from Ceiba

The 2018 Tropical Conservation Semester spent an amazing two weeks in the Amazon rainforest of Ecuador, and had the incredible good fortune of spotting a jaguar (Panthera onca) on our final day! The top predator ...

Students come to Ecuador and join the Tropical Conservation Semester program to explore the amazing diversity of ecosystems this country has to offer, to immerse themselves in local culture, and to experience first hand the unique ...

Like a caterpillar spending months gathering its energies to become a butterfly, students on the 2018 Tropical Conservation Semester have been packing, buying gear, practicing Spanish, and completing a hundred other preparations, readying themselves to emerge from ...

In an attempt to find new mammals species that haven´t been recorded on standard surveys (where the cameras are placed about 30-50cm off the ground), we installed the cameras on trees at about 4-5m of the ground and we baited them.

In only two weeks, we already have some nice footage, like this Whooping Motmot (Momotus subrufescens) preparing its lunch of a large caterpillar! Stay tuned for more discoveries as we take our camera traps to the trees!--------Nuestro Proyecto de Cámaras Trampa ha alcanzado un nuevo nivel, literalmente...

In an attempt to find new mammal´s species that haven´t been recorded on standard surveys (where the cameras are placed about 30-50cm of the ground), we installed the cameras on the trees at about 4-5m of the ground and we baited them.

In only two weeks, we already have some nice footage, like this Whooping Motmot (Momotus subrufescens) cooking its dinner! And we may even have a new species already!! But we are still trying to confirm this... Stay tunned!!--------Nuestro Proyecto de Cámaras Trampa ha alcanzado un nuevo nivel, literalmente...

We're extending the deadline for our Marine Biology Course in Belize. Join Ceiba this summer as we explore the mangroves and snorkel through the vibrant coral reefs along the second largest barrier reef in the world! Gain hands-on experience in field methods for marine research and learn about the conservation issues surrounding these precious ecosystems.